LeBron James picks the Miami Heat as his new team

In a photo provided by ESPN, LeBron James sits with Jim Gray before an interview on Thursday in Greenwich, Conn. James said that he's decided to join the Miami Heat and leave the Cleveland Cavaliers after an unsuccessful seven-year quest for the championship he covets. (AP Photo / ESPN, Rich Arden)

GREENWICH, Conn. -- LeBron James has made his decision. He's going to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh with the Miami Heat.

Get ready, NBA: A superstar trio is born.

Ending weeks of silence and drama, the two-time MVP said on his ESPN special from Greenwich, Conn. on Thursday night that he's decided to join the Miami Heat and leave the Cleveland Cavaliers after an unsuccessful seven-year quest for the championship he covets.

"The best opportunity to win and to win now and to win in the future also," James said. "Winning is a huge thing for me."

It's a huge victory for the Heat, who got commitments from Wade and Bosh on Wednesday. That duo, along with James, formed the upper echelon of the most-celebrated free-agent period in league history.

Heat president Pat Riley landed them all, a three-pack of stars to help shape his quest for a dynasty in Miami.

And for Cleveland, a city scorned for generations by some of sports' biggest letdowns, James' long-awaited words represented a defeat perhaps unlike any other.

James is gone. Home sweet home no more.

He said he made the decision Thursday morning and knows it won't go over well in Ohio.

"They can have mixed emotions, of course," James said, adding that Akron will "always be home for me."

Cleveland Cavaliers fans in Akron, Ohio, from left, Josh Hall, Rob Hose and Mike Adams set fire to LeBron James jerseys after James announced on Thursday he is leaving the Cavaliers to join the Miami Heat. (AP Photo / Akron Beacon Journal, Phil Masturzo)